Class-action lawsuit, anyone? The New York Times reports that a group of personal injury lawyers had identified a pattern of failure of Firestone ATX tires on Ford Explorer sport utility vehicles as far back as 1996. However, they did not disclose the problem to government safety regulators for four years, out of concern that future lawsuits might be compromised if subsequent investigation revealed there was no problem with the tires. Of the 203 reported deaths attributed to tire failure, 190 occurred after 1996.

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